Why don't religious fanatics fight holy wars with prayers? After all, you would think that if God was on their side they wouldn't need to fly an airplane into a building or invade a country under false pretenses. If mass destruction is what God wants then how come God isn't already doing it? It wouldn't seem that an omnipotent God would need suicide bombers or nuclear submarines. Surely God already has enough lightning bolts to strike us all down without resorting to scud missiles. Indubitably God has enough plagues without any true believer having to resort to anthrax.
Religious fanatics seem to believe that they need to go ahead and do what God would do if only God knew the facts as the fanatics did and God had as much time on his hands as they do. They're saving God the trouble.
That's why they might pray for God to bring down destruction on the evildoers but go ahead and start implementing the wrath on their own initiative. Surely it's not because they really don't have faith that God won't answer their prayers to strike down their enemies.
Actually, religious fanatics appear to be very frustrated and impatient with God. Maybe they fear that God has gone soft and needs a little help in managing creation. All God needs is a little prompting on their part. If they go ahead and start the carnage, maybe God will remember that he is supposed to be raining down hellfire and brimstone on his enemies, who happen to be exactly the same enemies of the zealots.
But I say that we need to do like the prophet Elijah did with the high priests of false religion. In the 18th chapter of 1st Kings, Elijah challenged the false priests to call upon their god to light a bonfire. And they called on their idol "from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered."
I'm issuing a challenge to the prime zealots in the world, one a Christian and one a Muslim. Both of them are rich boys who like to play politics and religion. They both claim that they're God's chosen man for the hour and that they are making war for the glory of God. Well, fellows, I'm calling you out to a high-noon pray-out in the middle of main street. Leave your weapons at home and come ready to pray. The Christian crusader can pray for God to smite down all the evil doers and the Muslim marauder can pray for Allah to slay all the infidels. And me, I'll just pray for God's will to be done. Whose prayer do you think will be answered?
Tags: Fundamentalism, Religious Right, Religious Zealots, Holy War, Church State Separation
from Jesus was a Liberal
